Summer heat

As much as I despise winter and love summer, there is also a happy medium when it comes to heat. Today would not be that happy medium. Somehow, between last week and this, the temperature has jumped about 40 degrees putting us into the 90's today. Being that today was my car cleaning day, the heat was not very conducive to such activity. Again, I would take a hundred days like today than one day of horrid winter but I'm just saying......

I used some more of my favourite 7gypsys paper for this going away/good luck card and combined it with pink, a combination I had seen in a magazine many moons ago. The pink doesn't show well in the photo but it really is pretty. I used a Prima flower, a black and pink Making Memories brad, some black Doodlebug ribbon trim and some vintage pink lace. And, as you can see, I can now almost sew in a straight line.


I'm sad that my week off is over tomorrow and it's back to work. I don't feel that I got a lot accomplished over the past few days but I was on the go each and every one of them. I've just started getting into "LOST" which is always a problem because I then do nothing else except watch DVD's and have to smack myself to do something productive. Enjoy the hot weather!

Welcome, new puppy

How cute is this card for a new puppy? My veterinarian is going to be the proud father of a baby Border Collie next week so, of course, I had to make him a card. The red print paper is Making Memories, the heart is from a punch and the dog is a cartoon I found on the Internet. New puppies are so much fun!

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day. I took my mom out for lunch then we got a big bunch of fresh spring flowers and took them over to the cemetary for Dad. Mom and I both laughed that Dad would have liked something to eat better than flowers but it's hard to leave a hamburger. The weather finally feels like summer. My back is feeling it as well after putting the air conditioner in yesterday. Note to self....next year, find a big, strong man.

What a beautiful day

Today was one of those perfect days - bright blue skies, warm but not hot, a nice breeze and all day to shop! I can feel the humidity start to creep into the air tonight so that's my cue to get my air conditioners in. They are usually in by now; in fact, sometimes, they have been in during April but this year has been abnormally cool.

I've had the Scenic Route paper I used on this card for months but never got around to using it. It's very pretty with the different patterns and I finished it off with some Prima flowers, a rhinestone stick-on swirly thing and some vintage ribbons.


It feels great to be finished midnight shift except that I need the whole week ahead to get all my chores done. It can become overwhelming so I just take it one day at a time. Anyway, I look forward to sleeping when it's dark, like the rest of the world! Have a great weekend.

Casinos and Cards and Cleaning.....oh my

My life has been so hectic lately, it's truly surprising I get anything accomplished. Yesterday, I and a few friends had a casino day, something which we try to do a couple times a year. It's always great fun, win or lose (actually, more lose than win) though it normally takes up the better part of a day, particularly since, this time, we went to Niagara.

I worked into the wee hours of the morning and was able to get these two cards done up. This first is done with some of my most favourite paper ever by 7gypsies. I painted some flowers to co-ordinate them with the paper, then added some of my mother's lace, some ribbon from Doodlebug, a rubon, and some pretty stick-on lacy corners.



This card is another for my friend going on his cruise - he needed five in total to thank all the staff on board the ship. I would love to do the same when I go away but am usually so busy getting ready for the trip that I don't have time to make anything. Note to self.....plan for this next cruise. The little boats on this card were cut using one of my Cricut cartridges, "New Arrivals". I painted the edges of the bottom half of the card then added a couple of brads and some stick-on crystals. Stick-on anything is the best thing ever invented - no muss, no fuss, quick and easy. Gotta like that!

I am SO behind in my cleaning that I'm not sure I'll ever get caught up, particularly with a week of midnights ahead of me. No sense sweating it - it will get done when it's done.

More to share.....

I am slowly, but surely, getting my projects completed though I have to wonder where the time goes. Today was spent running errands and meeting with old friends which left little time for anything else. This thank you card is for a friend who is taking a cruise and likes to hand out cards to the crew at the end of the journey. It was done with some polka-dot Doodlebug paper and the photo is one I took on my recent cruise.

For the life of me, I cannot recall what company makes this paper but I thought it looked very manly and non-frou-frou. Most of the cards I make seem more female-appropriate though I don't imagine too many men truly care about the make-up of a card. I'm off to the casino tomorrow so I'm hoping for some good luck!

Keeping Busy

I have a lot of projects that need to get done so took a couple of vacation days from work to try to get caught up. I have also been playing around a lot with my new camera, thoroughly irritating the cats with my requests for poses. Above is Kenya looking typically cheeky and completely bored with the whole portrait process. They both tolerate it though, knowing mom will eventually tire and leave them alone.

This sympathy card was made with some Anna Griffin paper I have had forever; in fact, it was some of the first paper I ever bought. The lace is some my mom gave me and the flowers from the Prima "Nursery Tales" collection. I printed the sentiment on my computer then added some pearl brads to the flowers.

I thought this card was fun as it's going to be used as a thank you on a cruise ship. Pretty well all the paper is scraps and the embellishment is from Sandylion with a rubon for the sentiment. I have spent most of the past week printing up my vacation photos and putting them into an album. For some reason, I much prefer to view photos hard-copy rather than on a disk. I guess old habits die hard.